For the first time in his career in F1, Yuki Tsunoda cracked the top-ten barrier in Monaco, and it was a well-deserved achievement according to the RB charger.
On Saturday, the Japanese driver negotiated qualifying with flair, reaching Q3 while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo stumbled and setting a solid eighth fastest lap in the shootout.
On race day, Tsunoda quickly settled into the groove of unwinding the laps around the Principality’s demanding circuit at a consistent pace while preserving his tyres for the 77-lap long stint.
The 24-year-old’s discipline paid off as he crossed the finish line in the same position as he started.
While the competitive spirit in him likely yearned to push harder, Tsunoda kept his emotions in check. He understood the bigger picture – securing points was crucial for him and the Visa Cash App RB team.
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“[It’s] good that we scored points again," said he said after the race. “I think we deserved these points. It was kind of fine-tuning, a bit of balance between me and my strategy.
“Obviously myself I wanted to push, but as a strategy we didn’t want to.
“[I] kind of tried to be calm as much as possible. In the end, the last couple of laps I enjoyed it and [it’s my] first points in Monaco, so definitely a happy day.”
Tsunoda has yet to receive clarity on his F1 future beyond this season, but his string of consistent performances, including points finishes in five races so far, haven't gone unnoticed.
When asked about his future, he acknowledged the importance of consistency in proving his worth and securing a seat on the F1 grid next year.
“It’s very important that we keep scoring points, and I think also the team allows me to bring the confidence straight away in FP1 and having a good pace already from maybe [practice] one,” he said.
“I think those kind of things will obviously help me to be confident and focused on what I have to do. I think just every race we are super consistent, that’s what we all want and we just keep pushing at what we’re doing.”
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